attraction to imperfection
by Pandastacia
Summary: because learning to trust often means learning to fall first. Sasusaku two-shot. FIRST CHAPTER REVISED!
1. you can't fall

title: attraction of imperfection  
pairing: SasuSaku  
length: two-shot  
inspiration: "7 things" by Miley Cyrus. (and warning: never listen to said song while cooking ramen for fluff and romance shall surely be inspired).  
summary: because perfection seems too surreal and godly, even if that was not the objective. because learning to trust often means learning to fall.

other things: Yes, I'm here with something else SasuSaku flavored story (strawberry, I guess. I like strawberries. Do you like strawberries?). I've revised this enough times I could possibly quote passages from memory. Enjoy and please do tell me your thoughts!

fate**fate_fate_**_fate_

A girl was leaning on the bridge, quietly tapping her toes against its old and chipped paint. The air wasn't moving; a breeze not stirring the leaves surrounding her into a haze of green. Birds that normally were chattering and squeaking their happiness to the spring world were silent, hidden in their nests.

In the dark, anticipatory atmosphere, the girl herself was different. Without a lot of light, her pink hair seemed merely ordinary, bland. If seen at that moment, anyone would have said that pink hair was a common and not anywhere near unusual thing. Neither did her eyes seem in any way spectacular. Emeralds that generally were generally incandescent were like ponds of water on a sunless day with a hint of green in its murky depths.

She wasn't alone.

Across the bridge from her was a black-haired boy whose posture suggested he wasn't there because he wanted to be. He merely stared in her general direction though his onyx eyes were not really focused but still saw her. But, although she had thought differently in their Genin days, he couldn't see into her soul and see the darkness he had painted around the picture of him she kept in the deepest part to portray her love of that boy (because he was no longer that boy). His hair was slicked back in such a manner that the girl, in her mind, called Chicken-Ass, though not in any real meaning of affection or hate. Maybe in the old days, it would have been affectionate.

But no longer.

She had seen the amount of pain people, including herself and other of her precious people, had gone through to get him back. Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and (most importantly, to Sakura, at least) Naruto had nearly died to try and bring him back. Over the years, she had watched past instances swarm, trying to get her attention, all having the same message: he's not the best person to be empathetic towards.

So his family had been massacred by his older brother. So the elders were senile old people that deserved a Chidori up their asses and not be involved in the leadership of anything other than a senior center. So he thought he couldn't get stronger here.

He sure hadn't gotten any stronger with the other guy.

The one that also betrayed Konoha.

He who thinks taking over people's bodies will make him truly immortal.

They belong together, she thought disgustedly. The power-hungry and plug-ugly (read: more beautiful than life).

But Sasuke had gotten more powerful. He could make himself look as if he were stuck through an electrical wire. He could make snakes come out of his body. He could cut someone up in the amount of time it took most women to cut open a container of chicken.

To him, help was a hindrance. Every time she tried to lend aid (even if it was just a bottle of water), he ignored it or rejected it, calling it and her "annoying".

Eventually, the message got through.

He didn't need them.

Fine.

Then they wouldn't need him either.

And she believed it with all of her heart.

Because he was no longer the boy she had fallen in love with.

The funniest thing about his leaving was the fact that he came back just the way he left- on his own. So many people needn't have died if they hadn't tried to keep their grasp on him. Maybe, if only she had gone with Sasuke-ku-.

No.

She shook her head.

She had done her best and he had pushed her away. Her kindness he didn't deserve. That past was his and his alone and she shouldn't take the blow for him, the selfish jerk.

He's back and might receive a welcome from everyone else, but not her. He'd have to prove that he deserves it. And she most certainly wouldn't call him 'Sasuke-kun' because, like the welcome, he just didn't deserve it.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Teme!" The shot of orange flew and landed in the middle of the bridge, in-between the girl in red and the little boy in black.

"Hn. Dobe."

"TEME!"

She nodded her greeting and returned to her thoughts. Those two would be at that for a while. No use in listening to them.

And, of course, Kakashi would be late.

"Yo."

Her head lifted, surprise in those sparkling green eyes. "Since when have you been on time, Kakashi-sensei? And without your… 'wonderful piece of literature'." Sarcasm laced the last four words. The unpunctual leader of Team 7 wasn't even carrying his book for once.

"Since I gained the opportunity to have such a beauty in front of me. And I'm glad you have finally seen the light." Beneath his mask, Kakashi was probably smiling a crooked smile.

"But haven't I always been beautiful?" Sakura pouted her lips and fluttered her eyelashes.

Their teasing banter was interrupted by Naruto (because Sasuke wouldn't care either way and would take forever to lose his patience), yelling that it was time for training.

"Alright," sighed Kakashi before walking away. After a few seconds, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other before the girl followed.

Naruto looked after her, his face uncharacteristically sad before turning to look at his other teammate. Sasuke, the village traitor, just stared back, blank-eyed, as if Sakura's icy demeanor didn't affect him.

And maybe it didn't, Naruto thought sadly.

And he walked away.

They arrived at Team 7's usual training grounds. "Where's Sai-kun?" asked Sakura, curious as to the fate of their fourth teammate. Sasuke just leaned against a tree, looking indifferent to the fact that he was no longer in that girly, ugly ass-bow and in a uniform consisting of a black shirt and black pants.

"He's letting us take this day to get reacquainted with Sasuke here. He'll meet Sasuke again tomorrow," said Kakashi with his head in his usual book.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, it's not like Sasuke's changed at all. I mean, he's just been gone for six years. And we've seen him occasionally, about two times a year. Alright, so he's tried to kill us and Sai-kun every time we see him, but really! What does that matter among friends?" Sakura asked sarcastically, throwing him the nastiest look she could manage.

"Sakura-chan! Don't be mean!" scolded Naruto while she merely rolled her eyes expressively.

"Aw, come one! We should invite Sai. He needs to meet us all at the same time and together! Why don't you get him, Naruto?" Before Naruto could object with a 'Sakura-chan!', she had pushed him away and turned back to her silent former-sensei and traitor of a teammate.

"So why don't we get started?" she asked.

"Fine, Sakura-chan," sighed Kakashi. "We'll do the Trust Test first."

"Hn."

"That's where you let your self fall and trust that the person would catch you," Sakura explained quickly. "If you let yourself fall, that means you trust them."

Duh, she thought savagely. That's why it's called the Trust Test.

"Hn."

"Well, I'm sorry I assumed you'd never played games. I mean, you've had your mind stuck on your brother (which sounds really wrong, by the way) for the past eleven years. You've probably never done anything fun like going to hang out in a bar in your life."

"Hn."

"Whatever. You're going first," she ordered Because I doubt you trust anyone enough to let me catch you. And then we can just wait for Naruto and Sai.

"…"

He waited for her stand behind him before just dropping backwards without preamble. She was surprised and caught him by reflex. Wha….? He actually thought I would catch him?

Then Sakura noticed the fact that his skin was warm, not the ice cold that she had thought based on the look in his eyes. Skin that looked as pale as that of a vampire actually held a tinge of color. And his hair smelled like… grapefruit. When it mingled with the tropical scent of her lotion and the strawberry scent of her own hair, she swore that that was the smell of heaven before shaking out her head.

Focus.

On his right shoulder was the scratch Ino had had to heal from his fight with Itachi. Okay, so it had been more like this gaping hole that Ino-Pig, her rival and ex-ex-best-friend, had to half-heal before stitching up the rest, leaving him with a pale line in the shape of a heart.

How ironic.

But Sakura had to strain against her impulse to trace it with her forefinger lightly, to see if that could tell her anything about him. What internal struggles were gone and what remained to be resolved. Indeed, her finger wavered a hairbreadth length over it, but she managed to restrain herself from actually touching him.

Because she was pretty sure that if she did, she would never let go.

Actually… why wasn't he commenting? Surely he could feel it.

She told herself that her heart wasn't racing (embracekisshugembracekisshug) and that she detested him with every fiber of her being.

Nearly choking on the sweet fruit-scented air near her face, she quietly said, "You can stand up now, you know."

In barely any time, he was standing behind her.

"My turn," she whispered and closed her eyes.

Okay. All you gotta do is trust. Trust that Sasuke will catch you. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. Don't think that if he doesn't catch you, you'll hit the hard ground. The ground that hasn't been rained on in months.

Her lip was starting to bleed under the pressure. Sasuke had been gone for so many years. He had tried to kill her more times than she had trusted him. He had left them for some creepy, pedophilic, snake-man that had promised him power without strength.

Fall! A voice in her head was screaming to let the troubles from the past go because this was Sasuke(-kun!), the boy she had fallen in love with.

Her eyes flew open as she took a subconscious step away from the avenger. Not bothering to turn around, her bangs covered her eyes so she never saw that more clouds were covering the sun. "Sorry, Uchiha. I can't do this."

And with that, she ran, not seeing the wide-eyed stare Kakashi gave her along with the drop of the orange book.

Or the blank-eyed look that conveyed more sadness and depression that could be said in any number of 'hn's…

to be continued...

fate**fate**_**fate**fate_

I guess this **_would_** be considered angsty.

...

Yeah, I think so.

So the second part should be posted by next Monday. I'm rather busy for the rest of the week and what not. And I **_promise_** the title shall be explained in the next part.

Because the story came from the songs **"imperfection" by Saving Jane** and **"7 things" by Miley Cyrus**.

-'Stacia


	2. until you can trust

title: attraction of imperfection

pairing: SasuSaku

inspiration: "7 things" by Miley Cyrus. (and warning: never listen to said song while cooking ramen for fluff and romance shall surely be inspired).

summary: because perfection seems too surreal and godly, even if that was not the objective. because learning to trust often means learning to fall.

* * *

She stands at the edge of the Hokage's monument, her hair blowing in the sharp wind, creating a pink sunset backdrop for her face. The forehead many had teased her for years ago now look perfectly proportionate and actually makes her eyes seem larger. Ino claims that it makes her look like a pretty doll.

Closing her eyes, she thinks hard.

In their team, they were each something different that made up the whole.

Naruto was the Determined and Cheerful One.

Sakura was the Smart One.

Sasuke was the Perfect One.

Or, at least, she used to think he was perfect. From his black eyes that occasionally turned Sharingan with its red irises and black tomoe surrounding the pupils to the sandals on his unscarred feet.

But now, when she sees him, she notices the white dot in his eyes that everyone has and the way his eyes are slightly blue, like he had dipped Naruto's irises in a bottle of black ink. They were kind of like his personality, she thought.

He keeps his eyes on his goals, never doing anything that doesn't further him. Having fun and just enjoying life wasn't a priority. Just leaving the village proved his dedication.

He cared not for others or their opinions.

He is the only one of any importance. The world is his oyster and he would take whatever he needed to do what _he_ wanted.

Cold permeated his entire being; it was like he was meant to be colder than Jack Frost in both temperature and temperament.

Staring out towards Suna, she drags her hand through her hair absentmindedly, thinking harder upon the subject.

His smirk, both attractive and grotesque at the same time, showed his vanity and confidence in himself. So what if the confidence wasn't misplaced? He had good reason to trust in his abilities. For heavens sake, he was impossibly strong. Strong enough to the point of scaring Sakura nearly to pieces.

Yet, at the same time, he obvious didn't trust in himself. His abilities, yes, but he didn't trust in himself. The way he was afraid to show his emotions was rather irksome. Claiming that emotions made people weak, he often closed off his eyes and soul to others. If he felt truly confident, he wouldn't worry because he would know that that wasn't really a weakness. Merely another reason to get stronger.

"Hn."

Startled, she spins around, sending out shurikens toward the voice. They barely make a hum in the air as Sasuke catches them with ease.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" she snaps, turning around so that he can't see the way her eyes redden as she remembers the changes she wishes never happened.

"Hn."

"What do you mean Naruto can't find Sai?"

"Hn."

"Dammit, Uchiha. Fine. Let's go." Sakura steps away, only to find her wrist grasped by her old love. "Let _**go**_!" Yanking her arm hard, she lets chakra bleed into it before flinging him off.

Correction: _tried_ to fling him off.

"Hn."

"… I'm not talking until you start using complete sentences." Tapping her foot, she waits for him to open his mouth.

"… Fine."

"Good. Then why don't we discuss whatever it was you were curious about?"

For a second, he says nothing, but Sakura can tell from the look in his eyes that he is thinking about how to ask what was on his mind. The way his uniform hugs his body, allowing her to see every single muscle in his body makes her nervous, but she stuffs that little voice that tells her to stop lying to herself into the corner.

"… I was just wondering about the falling thing."

She gives a sharp bitter laugh, not surprised to see how he doesn't flinch at the noise so unlike her real laugh. But she misses the way his eyes grow even sadder because he sees that maybe she had loved him after all and that crushes sometimes do mature into, well… love.

But he also sees that he might have just missed his chance at a Perfect Life or as close as one could get to it, anyway.

"You expect me to trust you? You let all of us down. We expected- expect, actually- that you get over the past and stop letting your brother control your life. But you seem to think acting like _him_ will make you stronger. Kakashi-sensei was supposed to be our role-model. And he liked you the best, but who ended up more like how we were expected to?

"_Naruto_."

She sees his eye twitch as it did every time the two's competition was mentioned, but carries on regardless.

"He was honorable and trustworthy. Everything you aren't, because you're _scared_ of seeming _weak_." A sneer darkens her face as rain starts to fall down. At first, it is a light drizzle, but it grows into a torrent- a blizzard of water.

"But the funniest thing is that you seem to think emotions make you weak. Maybe it's because you saw my previous life, when I chased after you like a brainless fool. Because look where that got you, huddling away from love. A body-snatcher pervert who spends all of his time trying to, well, body-snatch you. You're alone. No one really wants to know you. Are we supposed to trust you after you betray us?

"You were supposed to be perfect, like the prodigy Neji is closer to being. Master jutsu and be the Hokage's prized shinobi. But no. You decided to forgo an honorable path to take a shady trail. It might have seemed like it was a better choice, but was it?"

"It made me stronger," is his resolute answer, but she merely gives that laugh again.

"_Stronger? _Are you trying to make me laugh?

"You're no stronger than when you left. No- you are _weaker_. Naruto and I are stronger. We've bonded and made each other strong.

"What you've got is sheer power and nothing to do with it. You've had one goal that, once completed, means that your life has a lack of meaning while Naruto and I still strive to protect the people we care about."

His mouth opens, but she rushes onward, refusing to let what she was about to say scare her and give him an open volley.

"But do you know what makes me want to laugh and cry? That even though you _aren't _perfect, I still can't let go of you. I've tried and tried. God dammit, how many times I've tried! Kami probably hasn't been able to keep track with however many fingers there are!

"You've done everything-you've hated me, you've betrayed me, you've left me on a _bench_- and I still can't let go! Do you know how _hard_ this is for me? I just wish I could rip out my heart, it hurts so much! Maybe if you had never come back I would have felt better."

But that is the farthest from the truth and she knows it and he sees the truth like he sees her pink hair and amazingly bright green eyes.

The rain streaks down her face so that, if she _was _crying, he'd never be the wiser.

Because, if he'd never come back, her heart would reach into Sound and ache all the harder for what it couldn't have and what it reluctantly wanted all the same.

"Come on," he finally says, turning around and walked towards the path leading to the village as if she had said nothing. "Naruto wanted you to heal us."

"Of what?" She looks over him, trying to ignore the way his eyes smolder.

He sighs as one of his hands massages his forehead. "You know the dobe. He always wants to try and beat me. So I suggested we'd need a medic and Naruto chose you."

"But before we go, we still have to do the test." Sakura's shy suggestion is received with surprise by Sasuke. A minute before, she had been ranting about how he was a horrible person and now she is smiling softly at him, maybe not realizing how the rain has stopped and the sun was shining onto her face, illuminating her hair and eyes.

Maybe not realizing how she looked like a pink-haired angel.

"Why?" he wants to know. "Why are you going to try and trust me?"

"Because," she says simply. "Because maybe you aren't perfect, but then again… nobody is.

"I used to think you were, you know. That you were the one reliably perfect person in the world. But really, you're not.

"And maybe it doesn't matter to me anymore."

Sakura stands on the edge of the monument, her back to him. Nothing is said and, for a while, she just stands there. Sasuke sees how the light of the sun makes her face look peaceful.

And suddenly she falls.

Time slows down as Sasuke's eyes widen with horror. Not even realizing it, he rushes into action, jumping after her mere tenths of seconds later. Applying constant pressure to his feet, he runs down the monument faster than she fell.

He stands below her and catches her as soon as she was an arms length away. Both of her feet he sets on the ground, but her upper body still presses against his. Arms still supporting her lower back, he gazes softly at her wide eyes.

"You… caught me…" she murmurs almost disbelievingly, closing her eyes to enjoy the sunlight playing across her face.

Good thing she wasn't looking, muses Sasuke as he leans down to brush his lips gently against hers.

Eyes flying open, she stares into his face for a few moments before lifting her right hand to lightly brush away some of his bangs that had fallen into his face. Realizing how uncomfortable their position was, she stands up. Before turning towards him, Sakura brushes herself off, trying to stall the moment that was just so surely coming.

But eventually she does look at him.

Again, he slowly moves his face towards hers as she does the same. Her eyes close just as slowly as their lips meet in a chaste kiss.

She blushes and gives a shy smile before hooking her arm in his stiff one. "We'd better go. Naruto is probably throwing a fit, he's so impatient.

"And of course, you two are both going to need a medic."

_**-owari-**_

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand... CUT!

Well, yes, that was rather cheesy, but still. Cute. At least, it is in **_my_** opinion.

So what's your opinion? Does this work well for an ending or would you like a sequel... involving reactions? Like Ino's, Rock Lee's, maybe Akatsuki, to them getting together?

-Pandastacia


End file.
